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Blacks,
Reds, and Russians
Price: $49.95
Subtitle:
Sojourners in Search of the
Soviet Promise
Author:
Joy Gleason Carew
Subject:
History,
African American Studies
Cloth
ISBN 978-0-8135-4306-2
Pages:
304 pages, 1 figure
Publication Date:
July 2008
Reviews for Blacks, Reds and Russians
"With penetrating intelligence and beautiful writing, Joy Gleason Carew sketches an intriguing portrait of African-Americans whose disgust with Jim Crow led them to embrace the Soviet Experience."-Gerald Horne, author of The Color of Fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Racial Passing, and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism in the United States
Description:
One of the most
compelling, yet little known stories of race relations
in the twentieth century is the account of blacks who
chose to leave the United States to be involved in the
Soviet Experiment in the 1920s and 1930s. Frustrated by
the limitations imposed by racism in their home country,
African Americans were lured by the promise of
opportunity abroad. A number of them settled there,
raised families, and became integrated into society. The
Soviet economy likewise reaped enormous benefits from
the talent and expertise that these individuals brought,
and the all around success story became a platform for
political leaders to boast their party goals of creating
a society where all members were equal.
In Blacks, Reds, and Russians, Joy Gleason Carew
offers insight into the political strategies that often
underlie relationships between different peoples and
countries. She draws on the autobiographies of key
sojourners, including Harry Haywood and Robert Robinson,
in addition to the writings of Claude McKay, W.E.B. Du
Bois, and Langston Hughes. Interviews with the
descendents of figures such as Paul Robeson and Oliver
Golden offer rare personal insights into the story of a
group of emigrants who, confronted by the daunting
challenges of making a life for themselves in a racist
United States, found unprecedented opportunities in
communist Russia.
About the Author:
Joy Gleason Carew
is an associate professor of Pan-African Studies at the
University of Louisville.
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Price: $49.95
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